1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to infant teething toy device, more specifically to a teething toy that is removably securable to the top of a crib or playpen guardrail.
Teething devices for infants such as teething rings or toys are well known in the art and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. These devices are used by babies around the world to alleviate pain associated with teeth cutting through the infant's gums. Teething toys are typically placed in the mouth of an infant so that it may chew on the teething toy to stimulate the gums and aid the teeth in cutting through. Infant caregivers will often carry such teething devices with them and provide the toy to the infant when the he or she is in discomfort.
Traditional teething devices rely on the baby or the caregiver to hold the toy steady while the baby chews. This approach is problematic because of the lack of dexterity possessed by most infants. When an infant uses a teething device and then drops it, the device can become contaminated by dirt and debris. This dirt and debris is potentially harmful to an infant and must be cleaned prior to the continued use of the teething toy. Delays experienced while cleaning a teething toy can result in extended discomfort or pain for the infant. To reduce the amount of discomfort they experience infants will often resort to chewing on nearby objects such as furniture, crib rails, or even the infant's knuckles if no teething device is available. Over time this practice can lead to damage to an infant's crib, playpen, hands, and knuckles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been created that attach to a child's wrist; however these are not ideal for use by an infant in a crib or playpen as they require supervision by a parent or caretaker to prevent a child's wrist from becoming entangled or caught in crib bars. Other devices have been developed that attach to a crib or crib guardrail. Such devices are problematic because they require permanent modification to the crib or are not easily removable by a parent or caretaker. An easily removable crib rail having modular parts is needed in the art to provide relief from infant gum pain while protecting the underlying crib from damage.
The prior art contains a variety of infant teething rail devices for relieving the pain associated with cutting of a baby's teeth while protecting the structural integrity of crib or playpen guardrails. These devices have familiar design and structural elements for the purposes of providing an infant in a crib with a teething toy to chew on; however they are not adapted for the task of providing easily removable, modular elements therefor.
Paulison, U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,251 discloses a teething guard device. Edging strips are described for preventing a child from chewing on the top of a crib or play pen. The rails are applied to the top and inside walls of crib. Extruded strips of soft synthetic plastic are formed into a rail having an inverted L-shaped cross section. A coextensive web portion extends perpendicularly inward from a central portion of the strip, along a top-covering portion. Serrated sidewalls operatively connect to cooperative slots disposed centrally along the top of a crib or playpen rail to which the teething guard edging strip is applied. The teething rail of Paulison requires a specific means for securing the device to a crib or playpen rail such as a sawtooth latch; the present invention does not require any such securing means. Additionally the present invention discloses a teething rail having an inverted U-shape, not an L-shape.
Feldman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,189 discloses a teething rail sheath for a crib guardrail comprising a top portion, two side portions, and a center portion. Said side portions are affixed to said top portion at opposing edges thereof. The center portion is affixed to said top portion's central area and extends downward such that it is disposed between the side portions. In cross section the device has a “W”-shape. The side portions are angled inward towards each other as they extend downward from the top portion. This angling promotes grip on a crib guardrail. The center portion of the device is intended to fit within a groove on the top surface of a crib guardrail and provide grip that assists in securing the device to a rail. The present invention does not require a center portion to assist in securing the device to a crib or playpen rail. The device of Feldman has a cross-sectional shape of a “W” while the present invention has a cross-sectional shape of a “U”. The “W” shape requires a specifically-designed rail for its use, wherein a central groove is located along the upper portion of the rail to accommodate the sheath cross section. The present invention can work on any generic, rectangular cross section of crib guard rail.
Caniglia et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,914 discloses a teething rail for use with the circular handle of a shopping cart. The teething rail can be snapped onto and off of the handle of a shopping cart and can be chewed safely by a teething baby when riding in the seat of the shopping cart. The teething rail is a split tube that preferably has a center portion with round raised elements on which the baby can chew to stimulate his or her gums. Caniglia does not disclose a teething rail having a U-shaped cross section or a length suitable for enclosing the guardrail of a crib or playpen. Caniglia also does not disclose modular sections of the teething rail that are alignable and interchangeable to form an extended length of teething guard.
Murray et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,303,223 discloses a teething toy that is attachable to the rails of a baby crib. The teething toy comprises a pair of elastic wires secured to a crib at opposing ends by a pair of securing assemblies, a teething toy secured to and disposed between said elastic wires, and a noisemaker secured to said teething ring. In the preferred embodiment the teething ring has an animal shape and is formed of soft durable material. The teething ring is secured at a top end to a first elastic wire and at a bottom end to a second elastic wire to provide a child with the ability to tug on and move the teething ring. A noisemaker such as a bell is secured to the teething ring so that a gentle noise is made when an infant uses the teething ring. Murray does not describe a rail guard that removably secures to the top of a crib or playpen guardrail. Murray's teething element is preferably shaped like an animal or toy not formed in the shape of a rail sheath like that of the present invention.
None of these devices disclose a modular teething rail that is removably securable to a crib or playpen guardrail having a variety of arrangements. The devices disclosed by the prior art do not address the need for easily removable and modular elements that form a continuous length of aligned teething rail covers. The current invention relates to a device for alleviating gum pain of a teething infant while protecting the structural integrity of a crib guardrail, wherein shorter sections may be aligned and overlapped to form an elongated length that covers an entire crib guard rail. The shape of the covers are U-shaped, while their exterior surface comprises raised features to stimulate gum pain relief and gum separation for underlying tooth penetration. It substantially diverges in structural elements from the prior art; consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to the existing teething rail devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.